Program To Place German Teachers in Private Schools

Fifteen "highly qualified" mathematics and science teachers from
West Germany may land jobs next fall teaching in American independent
schools as the result of a pilot project designed to recruit German
teachers to ease shortages in this country.

Independent Education Services of Princeton, N.J., a nonprofit
recruitment and placement service for the nation's independent schools,
is circulating the resumes of the West Germans to see whether their
credentials appeal to schools that, like their public counterparts, are
struggling to find enough trained instructors.

The idea has merit, those who support the project say. They point
out that while public- and private-school administrators in the United
States scramble to find qualified math and science teachers, their West
German counterparts are faced with the opposite situation: too many
teachers for the jobs available. According to West German estimates,
the country has a surplus of 40,000 teachers.

About a dozen schools have expressed an interest in the project,
said William W. Baeckler, executive director of Independent Education
Services. Mr. Baeckler added that he expects to hear from more schools
as they begin to assess their needs for the next school year.

Independent schools were chosen as the project's target schools
because they are not bound by certification requirements that public
schools must observe.

Candidates Recruited

The project is the brainchild of Gerda Lederer, a high-school
mathematics teacher in Scarsdale, N.Y., who in 1973-74 taught in West
Germany when that country was experiencing a teacher shortage. With a
$10,000 grant from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation arranged through
Teachers College, Columbia University, Ms. Lederer traveled to Germany
early this year and recruited the 15 prospective teachers, who have
superior qualifications, she said.

"We don't have teacher candidates like these in this country, at
least none who are available," said Bruce R. Vogeli, chairman of the
department of mathematics and science education at Teachers College and
adviser to the project.

The preparation that German math and science teachers receive is
comparable to a master's degree program in this country, Mr. Vogeli
said. They take a four-year degree program in two major fields of study
and one minor field. They then go through a fifth year of educational
studies and a sixth-year internship that is similar to student-teaching
in this country, Mr. Vogeli said.

According to Ms. Lederer, the German teachers would work in this
country for one or two years and would be paid a salary equal to that
of other teachers in the schools in which they are placed. But while
they would fill a temporary gap, "there is also a cultural-exchange
aspect to the project that is beneficial to both countries," she
said.

nais Concerned

The National Association of Independent Schools, although not
currently involved in the project, "approves of the idea and is waiting
to see the outcome of the pilot," said Anne E. Rosenfeld, a spokesman
for the association.

Ms. Rosenfeld said that independent schools are "having to look a
little harder" for qualified math and science teachers than they have
in the past, but that there currently is not a shortage of such
teachers. She added that the association is "concerned" that a shortage
could be around the corner.

"We wouldn't be interested in seeking teachers from abroad if we
thought there were going to be enough teachers right here in our own
country," Ms. Rosenfeld said.

Mr. Baeckler at ies said, however, that the demand for math and
science teachers in independent schools far exceeds the supply of
available, qualified teachers. Currently, ies reports 311 vacancies for
math teachers in independent schools, but only 111 qualified candidates
for those jobs; the service also reports 256 vacancies for science
teachers and only 156 candidates.

College graduates in science, math, and computer fields gravitate
toward business and industry rather than teaching mainly because of
money, Mr. Baeckler said. "I keep hearing the comment, 'I wanted to
teach, but the highest offer I got from a school was $16,000 and the
lowest offer I got from industry was $24,000,"' he said.

Georgia Experiment

Because of a serious shortage of math teachers in Georgia--59
percent of the mathematics teachers in the state's public schools are
not certified to teach the subject--state officials traveled to West
Germany last year and recruited eight math teachers for this school
year.

"They're doing a super job," said Eloise T. Barron, mathematics
coordinator for the state department of education. "They certainly know
their mathematics. There is no doubt about that."

The teachers had some difficulty adjusting to the diversity of
Georgia's student population. "They are used to a much more homogeneous
group of students in Germany," Ms. Barron said.

State officials have not yet decided whether they will seek out more
German teachers next year. The program is currently being evaluated,
said Ms. Barron, who added that at least five of the German teachers
expressed an interest in staying. The teachers were issued temporary
certificates, which enabled them to teach in the state's public schools
for one year.

Three of the German teachers were among 90 teachers who took the
state's teacher-certification test last fall. The three Germans scored
2nd-, 4th-, and 6th-highest on the test, Ms. Barron said. The remaining
five teachers took the test earlier this year, and their scores are not
available yet, she added.

Vol. 04, Issue 29

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